Itinerary for late October, Murren and Lausanne

Hello - I will be traveling in Switzerland October 19-29. We want to see the Alps. We were thinking of Murren, but are concerned if it will be desolate at that time of the year. I know so many thing are weather dependent. So two questions: What is there to do if the weather is foggy and where should be stay, Murren or Interlaken?

We will also spend a few days near Lausaunne, again, where is the best place to stay? We are discussing Laussane, Vevey and Montreux.

thanks,

Hi Bernie,

A few bad weather activities are listed on the Interlaken page. Basically activities in smaller towns like Mürren are 100% weather dependent. If you want to be surrounded by nature, Mürren is the better choice, and you'll have to travel elsewhere in case of bad weather. If you prefer a more lively place, then Interlaken is better.

As for Lausanne, Vevey and Montreux: again it depends on what you're looking for. Lausanne is a rather large city. Vevey and Montreux are smaller, which is what I would prefer. All towns have train and boat connections to explore the region.

I hope this helps!

Thank you for your help so far. I think I have our itinerary mapped out, but would like a few suggestions:

We land in Geneva on the 20th and will spend 2 days site seeing and visiting with my niece who is studying there for the semester. Thursday morning we will leave for Montreux for two nights with ideas to do the following:

• Chateau de Chillon
• Cogwheel train to Rocher De Naye
• Chocolate Train
• Lavaux vineyards
• Visit Lausanne

Is the Chocolate Train a worth while trip? Is there a certain train stop for the vineyard or is it St. Saphorin?What else should we see? Saturday morning we will take the Golden Pass Train and are thinking of staying in Lauterbrunnen for three nights to see

• Schilthorn Piz Gloria
• Jungfraujoch
• Trummelbachfalle

What else is a must see for this area?

Tuesday we will head to Bern. I particularly want to see the Paul Klee Center, is this a worthwhile trip? It seems to be on the outskirt of the city. Wednesday we will return to Geneva, but are thinking of stopping in Murten on the way, again, is this can we see this area in an afternoon?

Thank you for any suggestions.

Bernie

Whether the Chocolate Train is worth it really depends on your interests. If you would like to visit both the chocolate and cheese factory then it's certainly an option. Beware that it takes a full day. Other activity ideas can be found on our regional/town pages like the ones I linked to in my previous post. What's a must see depends on what you like. You'll find hiking suggestions on the Interlaken or Jungfrau region page too. It's the best way to enjoy the scenery, I think.

<<"Tuesday we will head to Bern. I particularly want to see the Paul Klee Center, is this a worthwhile trip? It seems to be on the outskirt of thecity. Wednesday we will return to Geneva, but are thinking of stopping in Murten on the way, again, is this can we see this area in an afternoon?">>

Bernie-

a couple of thoughts -

You might be interested in the Rosengart Collection in Luzern, 5 minutes from the main station. It has a collection of on the order of 100 Klee's arranged in chronological order. The other stuff is pretty good , too.

www.rosengart.ch

Murten is a nice small town and could make a nice stop for a couple of hours as you proposed . When I used to come to Geneva for work, many years ago, Murten was a place I would go for a weekend break.

I not sure what you mean by "this area." The larger region is called the Three Lakes Region and has many days worth of touristic, artistic, and historical attractions. The lakes are Neuchatel, Murten and Biel.

I frequently stay in Ligerz and Sugiez, so I know the region well.

One striking example of a world class museum is the exhibit on Neolithic lake dwellers at Hauterive, near Neuchatel.

www.myswitzerland.com/ en-us/take-your-time.html and www.myswitzerland.com/ en/jura-three-lakes.html and www.juradreiseenland.c h

The Latenium-

latenium.ch and www.neuchateltourisme. ch/en/decouvertes/muse ums/latenium-hauterive.1132.html

Slowpoke

<<"Lavaux vineyards">>

The vineyards are extensive.

The local trains east of Lausanne ( to Montreux and also to Puidoux) make many stops in, above or below the vineyards. The view from Grandvaux station (and nearby) is, not surprisingly, grand.

The direct train from Vevey to Puidoux via Chexbres is a very short, very scenic ride up through the vineyards. On a sunny afternoon in the fall, the sunlight visible on the vineyards as you look from the train in the direction of Lausanne (to the west) is striking.

The train from Montreux to Zweisimmen and Spiez climbs through the vineyards as it leaves Montreux. That is a very nice view of the vineyards, and is a part of the "Golden Pass" route.

A map and the time table might help you:

www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

map.search.ch/

and- for detail -

map.geo.admin.ch/?X=149247.50&Y=548200.0 0&zoom=8&topic=swissto po&lang=en&bgLayer=ch. swisstopo.pixelkarte-farbe&layers=ch.swisst opo.swissimage-product&layers_opacity =0.65

That layers a detailed map over a topo as linked.

Slowpoke

Bernie -

I found a few relevant photos from the area near Murten. This refers to my earlier post about the area.

The view over Lake Murten is taken from near the ruin of a WW 1 redoubt on top of Mt. Vully.

The view over Lake Neuchatel is taken from the plateau above Bevaix.

Slowpoke

Hi Bernie, I thought I'd just chip in with this about your plan to visit Trummelbachfalle as it looks like you've set aside a day for this, when you are already in Lauterbrunnen. I would say you need nothing like a day for this visit, even including return travel from Lauterbrunnen. Depending on weather and visibility, if you do visit Schilthorn, it is possible to combine trips to Murren and/or Trummelbachfalle with such a visit to Schilthorn. E.g. you could walk through Murren if you travel there from Lauterbrunnen and catch the cable car to Schilthorn at the other end (I don't know about Autumn timetables having only been in summer) and travel back via Murren to Stechelberg (only this time you change cable cars and don't have to go back to the other end of the village first). From Stechelberg you take the bus to Lauterbrunnen but stop off at Trummelbachfalle on the way. Or you can just do a round trip via Stechelberg and miss out going via Murren. Just some thoughts; there are alternative activities in the area too, as already mentioned I think.